Category Archives: been there

indonesia chronicles: bali heat

Posted by rob on

the plan for my solo travel to indonesia was to visit jakarta and bali. i chose to visit bali first and not jakarta for i was thinking it would be better to do that if some flight delays occur in bali en route to jakarta. flight to jakarta from manila by cebu pacific was at late evening and i arrived at soekarno-hatta airport with a layover at terminal 3 for six hours for my flight to bali. i brought a pocket-book with me to keep me company and noticed three solo travellers like me waiting for the same flight but were white women. i was too shy to approach anyone of them so i just tried to doze off in one of the cold stainless steel chairs in the waiting area. an hour before my scheduled flight i checked-in at the air asia counter, and waited for boarding of my plane to bali.

it was drizzling when i reached bali and tried my best to act like one of the locals (which was in fact ineffective) when i was trying to get a cab to my budget hotel. the cab fare started with idr 100,000 as i was asking the drivers offering me the ride and as i was getting nearer to the airport exit i stopped by in a convenience store to have a cold drink and asked the store lady how much is the taxi fare getting to kuta. she said it was idr 50,000. i then was approached by a cab driver as i went out of the store, he was asking for idr 80,000, i insisted on idr 50,000 and acted to ignore him and he gave in for the price i wanted. talk about bargaining!

it was still too early when i reached the hotel and was told by the receptionist to be back by 12 for an early check-in at tune hotel, a budget accommodation in kuta. i then decided to walk around then suddenly heavy rain fell i took cover in one of the shops near the road where i met ari, a local from jakarta who works in germany. when the rain stopped he invited me to have lunch in made’s warung a restaurant famous in kuta.

after we finished lunch, we walked around kuta passing by more stores and bars. there was one thing that caught my attention for we were getting offered of “magic mushrooms”. i took a picture of a calling card for “delivery service” for these stuff.

these are actually mushrooms with psychedelic or hallucinogenic properties. obviously it is in demand with foreigners in the area.

ari and i passed by this memorial, where the 2002 bombing incident happened in kuta.

it is considered as the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of indonesia, killing 202 people who were mostly australians and further injuring about 240 more.

i thanked ari as we parted ways and i walked back to my hotel to check-in. tune hotel in kuta is about a 6 minute walk to the beach.

this is my second time staying on a tune hotel (first was in penang). the room is clean and has the necessity i needed for my stay.

the next day i visited bali bidadari batik were one can see how batik is made. they also have these local women doing artisitic drawings on shirts and weavers.

i was more fascinated with the weavers which reminded me of our ifugao native women in the highlands who does the same.

i then went to the sacred monkey forest sanctuary were macaques live free.

it is actually a temple for people who worship them.

the monkeys may look harmless but it is advised that one should not touch or tease them for they may react in an unpredictable way. i never attempted to feed them but a juvenile grabbed the dangling strap of my camera and good thing it slipped off in his small primate hand.

this one was eating some coconut provided by the monkey experts who keep an eye of the safety of both tourists and monkeys.

too busy eating her banana, i am so tempted to touch her.

the sun at midday was so hot when i reached tanah lot, a famous rock formation.

here is a closer view of the temple. i read that over one-third of the structure is already artificial because the rock face actually have crumbled.

no(t) entry? well i wouldn’t do so!

on my background is pura batu balong, a smaller temple in the area.

i spent my last day in bali at the beach.

kuta beach is as crowded as our own boracay, but a white wall fence (worth 4 billion indonesian rupees) separates it from the main road of cafes and restaurants. it is said that it was built to prevent sand from blowing off to the establishments but it actually ruined the beach view if you will be dining in one of the restaurants or sit in one of the cafes.

bali is a great place but your own safety should always be a priority, specially if you travel alone (and this applies in every foreign place we go). i loved the nightlife in bali though i had these instances where i was offered marijuana not only once by a local and i just politely said no and walked away.

directions to monasterio de tarlac

Posted by rob on

me and my family attended mass yesterday at the monasterio.  there were a lot of devotees in the place but parking area was no problem for us for there was much space.  a basilica is now under construction.  i took note the directions on how to get to the monasterio for i have received e-mails before asking me about it.  i don’t think there is an available public transportation as of now, but i am posting here the way we got there using our own family vehicle.

from sm city tarlac:  there is a mercury drug after the mall building along mc-arthur highway make a left turn going to zamora street.  turn left to tarlac state university (right side is mc donalds) along romulo boulevard.  turn right when you see the total gas station (left side is agri gas station).  you will pass by central luzon doctors hospital and tarlac chinese cemetery, then a small bridge (agana bridge).  turn left at st. gerard school.  along the way you will see signages of monasterio de tarlac and tarlac recreational park.  when you reach the narrow lubigan bridge you are now at barangay lubigan and just go straight going up to the monasterio.

the monasterio is one place one can visit during visita iglesia (seven churches visitation) customary on holy week.

for more of monasterio de tarlac, check my old posts:

monasterio de tarlac

revisiting the monastery

monasterio de tarlac holy week schedule of activities

hongkong chronicles: ocean park

Posted by rob on

ocean park hongkong was a few minutes away by bus from the serviced apartment where i was staying.  i bought a ticket to visit the theme park from the reception at ovolo.  i was reluctant at first to visit the park alone but i thought it will be a different experience for me.

i took bus 72A and a kind english-speaking chinese woman whom i met while walking on the road gave me the directions to reach ocean park because the bus will not pass by the park itself due to the ongoing road construction.  i did found it after relying on her instructions and reading signs (ike the one above) that i saw along the way.

i waited for a few minutes for the park to open and had to fall in line for there was a crowd piling up and knowing it was a sunday, i was expecting that there will be a lot of visitors. i was kind of looking for a lone traveller like myself but i never saw one.

the first attraction i visted was the grand aquarium which houses a myriad of sea creatures.  see how fascinated these people were!

a close encounter with these stingrays and sharks!

they camouflage themselves like water weeds but they are not!  these are actually leafy sea dragons that move like graceful ballerinas in the water.

after visiting the grand aquarium, i went to goldfish treasures where they feature varieties of goldfish like this one.

the giant panda habitat is home to a panda named jia jia.  it was feeding time when i got there so i got the chance to see her closer.

another panda i saw was le le, at the giant panda adventure.

i realized that it was  near lunch time and needed something to eat.  i chose this restaurant, panda café.

the eatery serves asian food menu, mostly sichuan specialties.

i ordered some seafood congee with deep-fried rice flour pastry and red-bean and jelly milk drink.

i proceeded walking around the park after my light lunch and went to the gator marsh and had an embarassing moment as i crawled like an alligator!

i did crawled inside and i got startled for i thought that there was a real gator!  lucky for me that i did not hit my head in the cement out of my stupid reaction, haha!

there are a lot of shops around the park like the celebrity store.

i bought some ref magnets and key chains though there were a lot more souvenirs to choose from, i found most of them too expensive.

ocean park is actually divided into two, the waterfront and the summit, where the fun rides are located.  i took the ocean express, a railway system that will transport me to the summit.

i took a picture of the nearby island from the summit.

some of the rides at ocean park –  including the floor-less roller coaster, hair raiser which i did not plan to try or even dream about.

ocean park tower is said to be one of the tallest observation towers in southeast asia.  it has a rotating observation deck at the top.

i made a mistake riding the flying swing which made me nauseous after the ride.

i was alone in the cable car but i really did not mind and enjoyed the view.

a wonderful view.

i just proved to myself that theme parks are better off for families and not lone travellers, hehe.  i cannot say that i enjoyed my visit fully, it was sort of for the sake of just visiting ocean park for i was already there.